Messerschmitt Me-109s to Finland by Mauno Fräntilä Air Master Sergeant Mauno Fräntilä at Malmi, 1943. During the last days of the Winter War in March 1940 "Manu" Fräntilä was wounded to his chest in the bay of Viipuri operations. He managed to crawl through the lines to the Finnish side. The journey to get the Messerschmitt Me-109s to Finland started on the 10th of February 1943 and took one month. The first seventeen pilots to ferry the fighters to Finland were: Ehrnrooth, Lahtela, Ervi, Puhakka, Pekuri, Euramo, Pokela, Tervo, Myllylä, Lehtonen, Nyholm, Juutilainen, Tuominen, Fräntilä, Lönnfors, Mäittälä and Peltola. Finnish Air Force DC-2 "Hanssin Jukka". Ilmari Juutilainen's Messerschmitt Me-109, MT-222 in the foreground. He flew the aircraft from 1943 to 1944. On March 10, 1944 Sgt. Mäittälä died in the aircraft when the tailplanes of the fighter broke off in a hard pull-out. Messerschmitt ferry route to Finland: The Messerschmitt Me-109s were ferried to Finland from Wiener-Neustadt and Erding in two groups. The Finnish team traveled by air with a DC-2 from Helsinki to Berlin and from there to Werneuchen Air Base close to Berlin for Messerschmitt conversion training. Pokela was hurt during the conversion training, when the engine of his Me-109 caught fire at 200 m altitude after a touch-and-go landing and he had to make a forced landing. He had to be flown to Finland in the transport plane. "Manu" Fräntilä flew during the next three weeks 1 h 25 min with the Me-109E and 2 h 30 min with the Me-109G. The Germans had planned for more training, but the leader of the group, squadron commander Maj. Erkki "Immeli" Ehrnrooth thought that they had already spent enough time at Werneuchen and it was time to move on. In the beginning of March the Finnish team traveled by rail to Vienna and arrived there on the 9th of March 1943. The Finns waited a few days in Vienna for the word from the large Messerschmitt factory at Wiener-Neustadt that the fighters for Finland were ready for the acceptance test flights. The Finns flew the test flights over the Alps with great scenery The first 16 Me-109-G-2 fighters ready for the ferry flight to Finland at Wiener-Neustadt on the 3rd of March 1943. The third from the right is Capt. Lahtela's MT-215. The sixth from right is "Manu" Fräntilä's MT-213 (RJ+SX). Manu Fräntilä's MT-213 (RJ+SX) in Fighter Squadron 24 colours, summer 1944 The Finnish group took of from Wiener-Neustadt on the 10th of March 1943 and headed to Breslau. All aircraft had not been test-flown and the plan was that if there were any trouble with them they should land after circling the airfield. All fighters worked well so the group headed to the first destination. The Finns flew in four independent four-ship groups led by Ehrnrooth, Ervi, Lahtela and Puhakka. The visibility deteriorated immediately after takeoff and Fräntilä noticed that his fuel tanks weren't as full as they were supposed to be. They strayed left from their course and found a divert field short of their destination. With red "fuel low" lights on Fräntilä and Nyholm landed Rosenborn airfield, refueled and took off for a 10 min flight to Schöngarten Air Base at Breslau and joined Lahtela and Euramo there. Also Puhakka's group had landed on the way for refueling. Me-109s on their way to Finland. Capt. Lahtela is leading the group in his MT-215 (GJ+QA). "Manu" Fräntilä is in the top aircraft, MT-213 (RJ+SX) From Schöngarten the groups flew via Thorn and Königsberg to Riga. When they took off from Riga Capt. Lahtela's canopy opened and his leather flight jacket was lost. The group landed at Riga to fix the aircraft and to fish Lahtela's jacket from the sea. They couldn't fix the canopy and so Lahtela, Ervi and Euramo stayed at Riga until March 14. On the 13th of March 1943 thirteen Messerschmitt Me-109-G-2s landed at Helsinki Malmi airfield. Messerschmitt Bf-109-G-2, MT-215 (former GJ+QA) flown by Capt. Lahtela from Wiener-Neustadt to Helsinki March 3, 1943. Drawing by Petteri Patolinna, Suomen Siivet 4/1971. Notice the old Finnish Air Force national insignia, the blue swastika, which dates back to 1918, when Swedish count Eric von Rosen donated the first aircraft for the Finnish Air Force. The blue swastika was the old Hindu lucky sign that the Rosen family used and had nothing to do with the later Nazi swastika. Go to Messerschmitt Me-109s to Finland, page 2 Information combined and translated from: Mersuja hakemassa, Mauno Fräntilä, Suomen Siivet 4/1971 Double Fighter Knight, Ilmari Juutilainen Home Latest Topic | Air Warfare | Conferences/Air Shows | Fighter Tactics | Fighter Aircraft | Missiles | Fighter Aviation Topic | Fighter History | Warbirds | Magazines | Current News | Links | Physiology | Photo Gallery | Bibliography | SIIVET - Wings | What's New J Lindberg. Copyright © 1997-2006 Fighter Tactics Academy. All rights reserved. Revised: tammikuu 02, 2006.